


Redundant

by Davechicken



Series: Kylux - Fluff & Angst [21]
Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-06
Updated: 2016-09-06
Packaged: 2018-08-13 10:45:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 489
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7973935
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Davechicken/pseuds/Davechicken
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kylo feels replaceable.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Redundant

“I’m not useful to you any more.”

It’s true. He doesn’t need him. Why would he? Now the galaxy is subdued, now their mutual enemies are dead, now they’re where they (he) wanted to be. 

Kylo had one thing he was good at, the only thing in his miserable life that had made him stand out. He was no pilot, his marksmanship was not natural (and so it didn’t count), his skill with wires and servos was the ‘make it keep going’ variety, not actual up to spec work. He didn’t have the gab of the politician, and he didn’t have the diplomacy of one, either. He knew multiple languages, but so did a protocol droid. 

He had the Force. And that was all. 

“What’s put that thought into your addled mind, Ren?”

“You don’t. There’s no Jedi. No Snoke. I’m…” Redundant. 

And Hux is nothing if brutally efficient. He’s expressed his feelings towards the Force before, but accepted it as part of the required arsenal for the war. Kylo could live with being an unwanted necessity, could make himself indispensable, could do anything he was asked, but… He’s now the victim of his own success: he’s been so useful that he’s made himself an anachronism, an appendix, a… pointless, useless… 

“Ren.”

Kylo startles, then looks guiltily up. 

“You’re not… That’s not true.” Hux falters, unusually for him. He’s normally poised and eloquent, not stuttering. 

But it is true, and the gnawing terror in his gut won’t abate. He’s. He’s. He’ll…

“Kylo. Listen to me: I _do_ need you, and if I’ve somehow let you feel anything other than utterly essential, I’ve failed you. I don’t keep you around for what you can _do_ , but who you _are_.”

He feels his eyes go wide, and stares in shock. He’s… Important? Himself? Not just… what he can do for someone? 

“I…”

Fingers push into his hair, and the Emperor pulls him closer, kissing at the dark locks. “I love you, you giant fool. Stop worrying.”

“But you… you wanted the throne, and–”

“Then I met you, and what I wanted changed, too. And that is you, just as much as everything else.”

Kylo all but hiccups. He wants to kiss him all over, but he’s practically immobilised by the emotion, suddenly rendered still and unable to comply. All he can do is lean into his fingers, close his eyes. “Thank you.” His heart feels so full, so swollen and sure. Hux… loves him. 

Not his abilities. Him. 

He’s pulled in for more kisses, and Kylo puts his hands on Hux’s thighs as he melts into his lover, making sure he kisses at least a fraction of his happiness back into him. He never knew this was what he wanted, either, but now he’s got it he never wants to lose it. The Empire could burn, if not for Hux himself. But for him? Kylo will fight to protect it forever.


End file.
